sabro

I broke a rib in a tournament. I heard a "osu" for point and put my hands up... and the guy evidently did not hear and punched me under my arm. Ouch. I won that match... but couldn't do the final match and settled for 2nd.

My son will be taking his driving classes, leaving me doing nothing but waiting. I'm looking for a Tuesday and Thursday Night class from about 6:30 to 8:30 in or near Redlands, CA.

Happy New Year from the beautiful snow capped mountains in Southern California!

Anyone bigger than me could easily kill me without trying. I would do whatever it took to avoid a physical confrontation and get as much distance between him and me as I possibly could.

Eyes are good targets. Hit him with a car or a big stick. Anything heavy and then get distance. Hey it's combat. Screams... high pitched screams could give you an opportunity. Or a loud kiai. Throw something... do something unexpected. You can't control size, but you can control distance and timing. Use your surroundings to minimize his advantage and maximize your advantage. I once told I guy that I didn't want to fight. I looked him straight in the eye. I said he'd probably kill me. That eventually, he would win. But that I would make it my life's purpose to tear out his left eye before he killed me. That stopped the fight right away. He shook my hand and walked away.

Pick up a chair and hit them with it.

I'm about 250 pounds... and about 6'2"... If you kick my kneecap hard enough, I'm not getting up quickly. But a strong side kick to the side of the knee takes a lot less skill and percision. Even if you miss... I am likely to go down. The top of the foot is another good target. If you have a little speed and power... I'd do one of those with three to five techniques and then put a lot of distance between me and the slightly injured, very large and angry man.

Repeated concussions are associated with serious and lasting damage, including memory loss, cognitive disibilities, sleep and attention problems, pain, loss of movement and what many old boxers and football players have- boxer's parkinsons. The follow up may speed your short term recovery, but the damage adds up over time. If you get stunned, or knocked out more than a few times, it is time to hang it up while you can still walk and feed yourself.

Isn't this all about control? You are responsible for every technique your throw. You should be able to throw a technique with full speed and power and pull it before it touches more than cloth. I don't think there is any excuse for hurting your sparring partner. Focus. Control.

Move when you hear the crack of the gun?

I think the difficulty is due to my own dorkiness. Slight differences in stances, particularly the use of layout stances, new kata, thrust kicks, slight differences in prep positions... It seems easy to learn something new than to have to relearn stuff in a slightly different way. To compound the problems I still go to my Okinawa-te class on Thursdays.

I have been training in Okinawan Shuri Ryu for a few years, but my new job takes me to a place far away and I have joined a Shotokan Dojo... it has been a rough transition.

I have recently taken a job in the San Gabriel Valley. I have been practicing Shotokan in Temple City, twice a week, for a few months along with the Shuri Ryu up in the mountains once a week. The adjustment hasn't been easy. Is anyone else here from the San Gabriel Valley? Where and what do you practice?

I wish the instructors at my schools had followed their own code of ethics. Not only did they date their students, they broke up marriages. I quit.

Domo arigato gozaimashita!

Hi, watashi wa Sabro desu- Hajimemashite I'm Sabro. 41 years old. High school administrator. I live in the mountains above San Bernardino. I've been studying Okinawan Shuri Ryu for about three years. I need to get a bit more aikido, ju-jitsu and grapling techniques fro my job. Knowing how to hit or kick effectively doesn't look good when you are breaking up a fight. I enjoy Kata, I'm naturally klutzy and it seems to help. I study the martial arts for personal improvement, and for the physical activity. In my entire adult life, thank God, I have not had to really defend myself. Born again Christian, play guitar, tall and too heavy, diabetes type II, bad tendons in my feet. Favorite Kata- wansu. Favorite Kumite opening combination: r-low punch/upper back fist, l- ridge hand, r-reverse punch/ left snap kick...(it's a rut...)

My brother studied both Shotokan and Goju- at one exam the Hanshi from the system (don't know which) was present. The guy is about 80 and under 5 feet tall. He normally sat silently, sometimes with his eyes closed on a platform at the head of the dojo. In the middle of one exam when a student spoke... he stood up, walked over to the guy and Kiai'd in the guy's face. Then he walked back to his platform and sat down again. (Another time when he was visiting he left them in kibadachi for a half hour while he spoke to the instructors outside. He also once kicked my brother in the mouth- to see if he was: a. wearing a mouth guard. b. was aware of his surroundings and c.would execute a block. All three were no.)

Right now I only know Nahanshi Sho. I have to learn Ni and San... for competition I guess you have to do all three- we call it O-Nahanshi

The interesting thing about the last tournaments is that we competed as novices (Intermediate kyu seniors). Other schools complained- so now we have to test for brown right away (my pal Jim got his a few weekends ago.) And for black by next October. The implication was that we were holding back to pad our school's tournament performance. But unlike people who get to train five or more days per week- we are limited to two days a week. I'll wear whatever belt I am given and compete with whomever the put me (I don't need to win to be happy.), but it seemed a bit ridiculous to me.

Domo Arigato Aodhan- san. You are absolutely right. During the state championship I started laughing because my friend Jim knew exactly what I was going to do...and we spent the first minute and a half with non scoring clashes...My other friend is a san-dan in TKD-different style and different eyes... and I'm going to try to get with him before the regionals.

Is anyone interested in attending/participating in either a weekend or five day Karate camp in Southern California? I have access to a facility and have thrown around the idea for a while of having some interesting seminars, some training, and some fun with paintball and the ropes course. The cost would be fairly nominal depending on who we have to pay for the seminars, the length of the camp, and whether you want the ropes and paintball included. It could be $200-300 for the weekend and about fifty more if you wanted the monday-friday thing. Give me ideas- how would you market it? What kind of seminars would be interesting? etc

I keep losing to the same guy- my sparing partner. We came in first and second again at the USKA California championship. This is I believe the third time in a row and the fourth in five tournaments. At the Nationals in New Orleans, my partner wasn't competing due to broken ribs, but I lost in the first round. I used to beat him in practice all the time...Talk about a rut.

I Usually use Wansu. Three competitions in a row, I tied someone and had to use another Kata for the tie-breaker...which I was never prepared for, so I use Ana ku for that. I should have Empi sho ready soon and I am told that Nahanshi is not a tournament Kata. I would like to learn pinon and san chin.

4th kyu-(green) Okinawan Shuri Ryu 41 years old- beginner- training for about three years. They keep saying they are going to make me test for black- shodan in October. I personally don't care what belt I wear. I will in my mind always be a white belt.

Basic white. No frills, few patches(3). I have a cheap gi to train in and a tokaido for tournaments.